SINGLE LASER PICKUP FOR USE WITH CD, DVD AND CD-R DISCS

摘要

An apparatus and method using a single 780 nm laser (780 nm laser diode) is provided for reading DVD and high density CD discs as well as for reading and writing CD-R discs. A first optical pathway directs a first portion of the output beam of the 780 nm laser onto either a CD, DVD or CD-R disc. A second optical pathway is provided for directing a second portion of the 780 nm laser output beam to a photodetector (PDIC). A super-resolution optical element (SUPER-RESOLUTION OBJ) is included in the first optical pathway to achieve a sufficiently small spot size to read DVD discs, high density CD discs and to read and write CD-R discs without requiring the use of a second 650 nm laser output beam. The super-resolution optical element can be a phase plate, an amplitude apodization filter, a diffractive, or both a phase plate and an amplitude filter.